PMO Leadership | Walmart's Social Operating Mechanism

In early 1990s, Monday through Wednesday, 30 regional managers visited 9 Walmart stores and 6 of their competitors' stores. They gathered a basket of goods and compare the prices. They not only saw the price but also the merchandise, how it was presented, what consumer were buying, what stores looked like, what the ambience was, what new practice competitors were using, and how employees were behaving. On Thursday mornings. Sam Walton conducted a 4 hour session with a group of some fifty managers including those regional manager who visited the stores along with buyers, logistic manager, and advertising people.

Unfiltered information is being exchanged and integrated. decisions are made, and everyone get a total picture of the business and a feel for the competition that is no more than one week old. People are acting on unfiltered information gathered is directly from consumers and frontline employees. Walmart's Social Operating Mechanism brought priorities (8% lower cost than competitors) from 50,000-foot level to 500-foot level where the synchronization had to take place. 

The mechanism simulate the flow of information, information dialogue, zero filters, frequency and boundlessness. However,  You have to decide where the information sharing and trade-offs are critical when design such mechanism. ​